This week’s issue of Star magazine has a rather rude story containing statements from an “expert” about how Denise Richards must be suffering from an eating disorder. The entire article is based upon these photos of Denise shopping with her three daughters, Sam, Lola, and Eloise (the little girl Denise adopted in 2011 as a baby) last week. As you can see, she’s not only holding a toddler but pulling a child-filled wagon behind her, which is not an easy dual-feat to accomplish with or without the paparazzi in tow. I think the strongest my arms have ever been was when my daughter was a toddler. Man, I got ripped in short order because holding a kid is much harder than lifting weights because, at times, they never let you put them down even for a moment.

As a result of this and Denise’s already thin physique, Star has decided that she is “scary skinny” and possibly “suffering from an easting disorder.” Okay, so those arms are looking a little bit like Linda Hamilton’s in Terminator 2 and slightly like Madonna’s famed gristle, but seriously. Even if Denise has lost weight (and she’s always been rather petite), I am thinking it might be as a result of stress. She has three young daughters and often finds herself caring for the twin sons of Charlie Sheen and Brooke Mueller on an extended basis. Regardless, here’s the story from Star:

Once a sexy Bond Girl, Denise Richards looked like a shadow of her former self at the Beverly Glen shopping center on Feb. 1, where she ran errands with daughter Sam, 8, Lola, 7, and adopted baby girl Eloise, 19 months. “her clothes were falling off her,” an eyewitness tells Star. “Her shoulders and arms looked superfrail, and her face was gaunt. She did not look healthy at all.”

Even her ex-husband, Hollywood trainwreck Charlie Sheen, is concerned! “Denise is skinnier than she has ever been, and Charlie is worried,” admits a pal. “He cares about her — if she needs help, he will make sure she gets it.”

But Denise is convinced that she’ll never find true love unless she’s at her absolute thinnest. “She keeps saying that as a 42-year-old woman in Los Angeles competing against twentysomethings, she has to work harder if she’s ever going to get married again,” says the insider.

Weight expert Alicia Hunter, author of The Accidental Diet: From Fugly to Fox, says the actress needs to put some weight back on, fast: “She looks to be hovering at around 108 lbs., which is 15 lbs. less than is healthy for a woman who’s 5’6″.”

[From Star, print edition, February 18. 2013]

Are we really supposed to believe that Charlie Sheen is concerned about anything other than where his next briefcase full of coke is coming from? If anything, Charlie needs to stop dumping his own problems on Denise, but I guess she’ll always be the responsible one in that former relationship. I also find it rather offensive that Star quotes a (probably fake) source who says that Denise is desperate for a man, which is why she’s so underweight. She doesn’t seem like she’s madly hunting for a man in her life when she went out on her own to adopt a baby instead of waiting around for a relationship. Also, I remember watching one episode of her short-lived reality show in which she was arguing with her assistant about how she didn’t want to date anyone — not even for the sake of spicing up her show.

Anyway, I don’t think Denise looks too skinny in these photos. She has always been on the thin side, and she works out a lot, which may not only be for fitness but also as a means of stress relief. Denise looks tired, sure, and the light isn’t particularly flattering on her arm muscles, but give the woman a break. At least she’s not blindingly orange anymore.

Denise must be under tremendous stress, and has always been the stable parent to her beautiful children. She does look exhausted, as most mums with small children are. I was like a thin zombie when my children were aged 1-5, put my own needs last. Denise is still gorgeous, but her arms look very masculine. D. needs sleep and nourishment, not another troublesome man!

Look at her chest below her collarbone. You can see the bones protruding. She is too thin. Not anorexic but definitely too thin imo. However, she lives in a place where the standard is quite different.

Oh Bedhead, yes, she does look too thin. That is clearly not enough weight for her frame. When you can see every muscle, tendon and vein in clear outline when the arm is flexed, the woman has lost too much fat. I know, I’ve been right where she is. I look at pictures of myself back then and what really stood out was that I could see every bit of my underlying throat structure, just like you can see Denise’s. And I’m her exact height and build and weighed the same and it was all muscle. I hope she is OK. I know I was not.

I’ve always been curious as to what causes the extremely pronounced, and imo very unattractive, veins that I’ve seen on women like Madonna, Jolie, Richards in these pics and on bodybuilders both male and female. Is it simply the loss of too much body fat? Is it certain types and/or excesses of training? Are age and/or genetics factors? Some combo of all of these things? You seem quite well informed on this topic. Could you or some other CB commenter please explain it to me?

Delia,
Pregnancy increases your circulating volume ( by 50-70% by end of second trimester) to support the baby. Veins basically get stretched out, as they do not contain the same muscular structure as arteries. Arteries are placed deeper in the body, (veins are too) but veins also run more superficially, so they are noticeable. So, increased volume + stretched out + gravity ( arms are dependent)= bulgy veins. Denise’s very low body fat makes them very, very visible.

My kids poke at my bulgy hand veins. At a recent child’s surgery, the anaesthesiologist made jokes about borrowing my veins. Check out some mommy hands in public sometime.

Some people genetically carry less fat between their veins and the surface of their skin (I am one of them. I have also heard that low blood pressure will increase the vein size in your extremities (I have that too). When I get TOO thin, you can see veins popping on my upper arms and belly, especially over the hip area. When I am in good shape, they only show up on my hands, feet, and lower arms.

Lulu~I think you are correct. Even by the false artificial standards of Hellywood Denise is too thin. If she got sick, for eample, with the flu~her body would be severely strained to come up with the resources to fight the illness. Doesn’t she have a past history of body dysmorphia behaviors, which is the NUMBER 1 risk factor for relapse?

Yes, but there is definitely a point at which you become too thin to be healthy. If Denise is not there yet, she is on the border. She looked much better all around, face included, when she weighed a little more. When she was young she had a great curvy figure.

yeah, saying someone has an eating disorder in a magazine is so very shiteous. she is very thin but how is saying that going to help her if she has a problem?

i feel really bad for those girls. they have a really creepy, gross dad. how are they not going to eventually know about the kiddie porn, the prostitutes, the drugs, the abusiveness? he’s a nasty nasty man. sad.
makes me appreciate my dad!

She looks tired and a bit worn out, which is to say she looks like she is a single mother with three young children. My sister said that when her children were little, she didn’t catch up on her sleep for years.

What Denise is doing by taking care of the two boys is wonderful – she seems like the only stable, responsible person in that situation. It’s very kind of her to take care of her ex-husband’s second set of children like that.

I beg to differ with your generalizing statement. I have this same body type and am about her height and naturally appear this way. I’m not sick nor do I have an eating disorder- and I’m the same age. All the women in my family are like this. It is what it is.

Linda Hamilton arms. Women with breast implants (including me) need to be careful how far they diet. You need a little extra fat in the chest are or the implant looks ripply. I thought she said once she had hers removed? Or I may be mistaken. Anyhow, she clearly has implants in these photos

I think we need to cut her some slack. Some people have a hard time eating when they’re stressed, and God know’s the women has stress. She has a lot on her plate with her kids and being a rescuer to two little boys that need a parent. Maybe she needs a good hamburger, but with her life she may not have time to even go to the bathroom without an audience.

I didn’t know that she takes cares of Charlie’s and Brooke’s boys too. That makes me think a lot more highly of her. I would bet that this is due to high levels of stress because she’s always been a healthy weight before

I agree that the most annoying part of that story was the suggestion that she’s trying to be thin to get a man. There is nothing coming from Denise Richards that makes her seem desperate for a man or even interested in finding one. She seems super happy raising her kids, like that’s all she ever wanted, and I think she seems pretty happy. Just a little stressed, as single moms usually are. I’ll bet she’s horrified by that article.

I actually noticed Denise’s (newly) scary skinny little legs in a pair of jeans yesterday while browsing another website that was just talking about her kids. Those jeans were not baggy or boyfriend cut cut and my first thought when I saw them and her shirt swimming on her was “Something just doesn’t look right here all of a sudden…” Whatever the case, I hope she’s ok!

She is far too thin. Being underweight is a serious health risk — as risky as being very, very, very overweight. It’s terrible for your immune system, reproductive system, vascular system, absolutely everything. I know parts of our society are trying to convince us otherwise, but we do actually need food to live. And we need much more than the bare minimum of food to be healthy.

Men do not like women who are too thin. Is this some Hollywood thing? Ooh, skin over bones, dull skin and hair, no energy or sex drive, how hot — no. If she were going after men, she’d be trying to put on weight, not lose it. Besides, what’s with these tabloids pretending wealthy celebrities have problems getting boyfriends? Give me a break.

Actually, just because a woman is famous and beautiful, doesn’t make it any easier for her to find love. In fact, it probably makes it even more difficult. When I was younger, I was quite beautiful, and had no problem getting dates. But sifting through the chaff to find the quality guys took a lot of time and effort, and it seemed all the good ones were taken. And lots of guys were initially attracted, but once we had dated a bit, got cold feet and didn’t want things to go any further because it was all just surface attraction for them. Maybe that’s how Denise feels. Just throwing my ¢.02.

Sorry Bedhead, I get what you’re saying and I’ve BTDT with two toddlers, but she is emaciated. Not “mommy too busy to care for herself” thin but disorder thin. I think she is one beautiful woman but she is starting to look like a wreck.

It’s clear she’s too thin and not eating enough – perhaps even struggling with an eating disorder, but I find it interesting that no one has mentioned drugs. I know she’s a good Mom to her kids (and Charlie’s other kids) but it’s no secret that Denise likes her blow and who knows what else. It’s entirely possible she’s still getting high.

i’ve always wondered if the little girl, eloise, is also sheen’s child with some random… i know denise had said she wanted more children & taking in another bio child of his fits her character. i just think the baby has very similar eyes/nose features to sam & lola & even max & bob! maybe i’m seeing things but it is charlie sheen we’re talking about!!!

Eh it’s probably stress. She has her own kids and Charlie/Btooke’s and then has to deal with his crap?

I’ve always been a stress eater so I’ve never understood the concept of stress making you not eat but for the past few months I have been stressed beyond belief and have had literally no appetite. I wish I could eat but I have no desire for food (I’m at least trying by drinking meal replacement shakes). Anyway I’ve always shook my head at the absurdity of stress killing your desire for food but now realize that I was wrong.

Not going to fault her if she’s scary skinny. When Charlie and Brooke finally get their sh-t sorted maybe she’ll finally have to stop worrying for all of those kids.